Author Archive for Louis Columbus
Louis Columbus has nearly 20 years of experience in the IT industry, specializing in market and industry analysis, sales, product management and development. He's held senior positions at Toshiba America, Lockheed-Martin, Intergraph, and immediately before joining Cincom, as senior analyst at AMR Research. Mr. Columbus is a frequent contributor to industry publications, is a columnist for CRMBuyer.com, and has published 15 books on operating systems, peripherals, and industry analysis. In addition, Mr. Columbus is a frequent lecturer in Webster Loyola-Marymount University's graduate program on International Business. He is a regular contributor to the Perfect Customer Experience and the Complex Selling Made Simple blogs. Contact Information: LColumbus@Cincom.com
Why Mass Customization Needs To Create Passion for Your Brand
Bottom line: Today go get started on a customer satisfaction audit of your mass customization strategies and see what you find out. How far are you from delivering a kick ass experience for your customers? Be real because they are – and so are your competitors. Your future deepens on the passion for service your customers see.
Rolodexes Are Social Networking Roadkill
Bottom line: Imagine if all the sales teams in your company decided to make the most important relationships cataloged in their Rolodex come alive again. That infusion of intensity and customer focus can change a company – and no sales team ever accomplished that going card after card in a Rolodex dialing for dollars.
Selling More Profitably Through Channels
For many manufacturers, their indirect channels are the majority of their revenue; yet they sell only a small percentage of their most profitable products, opting instead to move literally tons of low-margin, competitively priced products, eventually competing on price and availability.
The Truth about Channel Management
Bottom line: Trust is the new currency and to earn it a company has to recommit to enrich, grow, strengthen and passionately serve its channels with intelligence, insight and knowledge. Only by finding that resonating passion to make your channels grow stronger with knowing how best to use your company’s products, services, programs and expertise to overwhelming solve customers’ problems can new sales be earned.
Navigating Complex Selling with Product Configuration: Part I
The essence of excellent selling is helping customers past the dangerous pitfalls their strategies may hold and guiding them to their goals. Product configuration platforms in high-tech, industrial plant and equipment, telecom and many other industries are the lighthouses that combined with selling expertise keep companies on the path to their goals.
Best Practices in Making Complex Selling in Commercial Insurance an Experience
Bottom line: Complex selling of commercial insurance needs to focus on creating an exceptional and memorable experience for customers to gain their loyalty and trust over time. Geico gets it; they also accomplish all this and entertain too.
Controlling Rhythm, Metre and Pace of Selling Cycles: Lessons from Coach Wooden
Bottom line: Complex selling cycles are as long or longer than a basketball season. Anchoring the coordinated efforts of teams in shared values and treating time not with fear but with an opportunistic mindset makes all the difference. From the Maestro who delivers an excellent performance to Coach Wooden winning 10 NCAA National Championships, to the sales professionals who sell on value and orchestrate their teams to winning new business, all must be anchored in solid, strong values to succeed.
The True Currency of Guided Selling Is Trust
Bottom line: For those companies who have decided to excel at keeping commitments and earning trust, attaining best practices in guided selling and product configuration is the way to do it.
Product Configuration: Balancing Customer Experiences and Pricing
For any company to be successful and grow they have got to exceed customers’ expectations consistently – to only meet them is to flat-line sales. Yet there is also the need for delivering exceptional products as part of the experience.
Aligning the two using product configuration can be the most profitable strategy of all.
Urgency Addiction is Not Job Insurance
People are battling against the uncertainty of their jobs, the economy and their company’s futures by taking on more work than ever. Overcomitting and being hyper-responsive is the new job insurance mirage.